Immunoregulation: Mechanisms of Action and Clinical Applications

Copyright © 2013 Akaitz Dorronsoro et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells found in connective tissues that can differentiate into bone, cartilage, and adipose tissue. Interestingly, they can regulate immune responses in a paracrine way and allogeneic MSCs do not elicit immune response. These properties have encouraged a number of clinical trials in a broad range of regenerative therapies. Although these trials were first focused on their differentiation properties, in the last years, the immunosuppressive features have gained most of the attention. In this review, we will summarize the up-to-date knowledge about the immunosuppressive mechanisms of MSCs in vivo and in vitro and the most promising approaches in clinical investigation. 1